Mr. Speaker, at this time, there are no plans to change the existing, long-standing size thresholds used in respect of basic groceries and snack foods.
Under the goods and services tax and harmonized sales tax, or GST/HST, suppliers of goods and services in Canada report and remit the total amount of GST/HST collected on their taxable supplies to the Canada Revenue Agency. Neither the Canada Revenue Agency nor the Department of Finance Canada collect data on the GST/HST collected, or not collected, on types of specific goods and services, by particular methods of sale or by types of packaging. The Department of Finance does not have any public estimates that it is able to share on the potential amount of additional tax revenue from changes in the packaging or size of basic groceries.
When the goods and services tax and harmonized sales tax, or GST/HST, was introduced, it was determined that basic groceries should be zero-rated or fully relieved of tax, reflecting a widely held view of Canadians that staple grocery items should not be taxed. Accordingly, under the GST/HST sales of many beverage and food items for human consumption are tax-relieved, including fruits and vegetables, eggs, breakfast cereals, most milk products, and fresh meat, poultry and fish.
The Canada Revenue Agency is responsible for the administration of the GST/HST system, including the determination of the tax status of specific food and beverage items.